Mummified animals at Bowers reveal concerns of the ancient Egyptians

A standing ibis figure tops a container for a mummified ibis. The body is made of wood, silver, gold and rock crystal, and the work dates back to 305-30 B.C. COURTESY OF BOWERS MUSEUM

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This large wooden figure of a cat seated on a wooden base was covered with gesso, some traces of which remain, when it was discovered. The piece is split into two sections to serve as a mummy container. It is part of “Soulful Creatures” at the Bowers Museum. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF BOWERS MUSEUM

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Mummified dog, 510-230 B.C., with decorative patterns made up of interlaced bands of cloth. The head is modeled in coated linen and painted. On view at the Bowers Museum through June 15. COURTESY OF BOWERS MUSEUM

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A head of a lion cub in black and white granite was broken from the body at the neck. Most of left side of the neck remains. It dates to between 3100 and 2900 B.C. COURTESY OF BROOKLYN MUSEUM, CHARLES EDWIN WILBOUR FUND

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This mummy of an ibis, a large wading bird found in tropical regions, including along the Nile River, takes the form of a human mummy. The artifact dates to between 30 B.C. and the first century A.D. GAVIN ASHWORTH, COURTESY OF BOWERS MUSEUM

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A baboon applique made of linen between 305-30 B.C.E. Images of baboons were used as votive offerings throughout Egyptian history. COURTESY OF BROOKLYN MUSEUM, CHARLES EDWIN WILBOUR FUND

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One votive bust made of limestone of King Ptolemy II from the Ptolemic Period, 285-246 B.C.E. COURTESY OF BROOKLYN MUSEUM, CHARLES EDWIN WILBOUR FUND

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A seated baboon, probably representing the god Thoth, made of wood in Egypt. It dates back to 1539-1075 B.C.E., or 664-332 B C.E. It is from the collection of the Brooklyn Nuseum, but is on view at the Bowers Museum through June 15. COURTESY OF BROOKLYN MUSEUM, CHARLES EDWIN WILBOUR FUND

Mummies. We’ve all seen or heard about the wrapped corpses from ancient Egypt and from the movies.

While we might think mummies are a King Tut and pyramid thing, they’ve actually been discovered throughout the world, on nearly every continent.

And did you know that the Egyptians not only mummified humans, but millions of animals, as well? Dogs, cats, birds, snakes, crocodiles, shrews, even dung beetles.

Through June 15, the Bowers Museum is presenting the West Coast premiere of “Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt.” Organized by the Brooklyn Museum, the exhibit is a surprising collection of animal mummies, statues, friezes and coffins, demonstrating that animals played an important role in Egyptian culture and religion, and that their mummification was widely practiced for centuries.

“It seems as if Egyptians of all classes had access to the commissioning of an animal mummy, accompanied by a request from a god to solve a problem with health, work or family members to settle a dispute,” said Edward Bleiberg, lead curator for this show. He’s curator of Egyptian, classical and ancient Near Eastern art at the Brooklyn Museum.

“Just about any kind of problem that we can conceive of in everyday life – mummification was a response to the problem,” he said.

The Bowers exhibit starts with a number of animal statues and smaller carved figures, as well as a bust of Serapis, a god that represents a combination of the Egyptian gods Amun and Osiris. This divine figure was successfully exported to the wider Mediterranean world, which was a rarity for Egyptian religion.

The opening galleries also contain a few friezes with hieroglyphics, god statuettes and stelas, stone commemorative slabs with images and writing on them. These provide further historical and cultural context.

About three galleries into the exhibition, the animal mummies finally make their appearance. Under encased glass are mummies of a bull, several ibises – long-legged, wading birds found along the Nile and other waterways – cats, dogs, hawks and mole-like shrews.

Ancient Egyptians from about 1000 B.C. to about 200 A.D. believed that animals had souls and, moreover, were the souls of gods, according to Bleiberg, who holds a Ph.D. in Egyptology.

“So when they send an animal to a particular god, they imagine that the mummy will help them solve a problem in this world,” Bleiberg said.

Some of the mummies are elaborate creations tucked in beautiful, gold-gilded coffins. One ibis coffin in the Bowers show is particularly realistic and striking, made of silver, gold, wood and rock crystal and dating to between 305 B.C. and 30 B.C.

But other mummies are haphazard wrap-up jobs, and some don’t contain any animal remains at all. One mummy in the Bowers exhibit actually contains two animal corpses.

“Sometimes they contained only dirt and stones, or only part of the animal,” Bleiberg said. “It’s possible there were bargain versions, or corruption inside the temple. There are accusations of corruption. We know there were reforms that were enacted.”

Indeed, King Ptolemy VI, who reigned from 180-145 B.C., enacted a law that only one animal could be encompassed in each package.

“Soulful Creatures” also features mummified fish, falcons, crocodiles and scarabs, also known as dung beetles. The Egyptians held scarabs in high regard, associating them with the force that rolls the sun across the heavens.

Near a few of the wrapped specimens are images from CT scans and X-rays conducted by the Bowers that reveal the mummies’ contents and help tell another part of the story.

THE ANIMAL CONNECTION

This is the third major Egyptian exhibition at the Bowers since 2000, and the fourth exhibit prominently featuring mummies. But none of the previous shows included animal remains.

“What I thought was interesting, for both of the Egyptian exhibitions in the past, there were always artifacts that were animal-related,” said Julie Perlin Lee, Bowers’ vice president of collections. “Animals were intricately woven into these exhibitions. The importance of animals to Egyptians in that period was pretty fascinating. Here’s a different aspect to mummification in the afterlife.”

Peter Keller, president of the Bowers, said he learned recently from Zahi Hawass, one of the world’s leading Egyptologists, that “animal mummies are the most common Egyptian artifact you can find.” Up to 7 million dog mummies were uncovered in a single cemetery in Saqqara, Egypt.

Lee says “Soulful Creatures” is a natural for Orange County. “Think about it: The pet industry is huge, especially in Orange County, and how much people have a connection to animals and pets.”

For Bleiberg and his fellow organizers, this exhibit offers a chance for present-day visitors to connect with the lives and perspectives of ancient Egyptians.

“It’s very easy for us to see the things they do as so different from the ways we behave,” he said. “Mummification makes them seem exotic. But the reasons for doing these things, and the kinds of problems they’re trying to address – those are the same problems we’re trying to address in our own lives. It helps us connect with ancient people, see them as very human, and share in our own humanity.”

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